185-pound Great Dane’s bark credited with saving family from house fire

Dogs are great at sensing when something is wrong.

If you feel sad, they’ll somehow know to come and comfort you. If you’re about to experience a medical episode, they may even be able to warn you so you’re able to prepare.

For the Walker family, their dog alerted them to a fire in their home and saved their lives.

In the early hours of September 8, Ralph, a 185-pound Great Dane began barking. Ralph had sensed that the family home was on fire even before the smoke detectors had sounded.

“We were all asleep, it was a little after 2 o’clock in the morning,” Derek Walker said. “It could’ve been really, really, really bad.”

Derek and his wife quickly got up, grabbed their children, and Ralph, and raced outside just in time.

The family was also able to rescue one of their two miniature pigs, sadly the other one died.

GoFundMe/Old Mill Trace Fire

Luckily, the Walkers were able to escape their Alabama home and it was all because of Ralph. According to North Shelby Fire Chief Buddy Tyler had Ralph not sensed the danger, “we could have had four deaths, very easily.”

The fire reportedly began on an outdoor grill before spreading to the rest of the Walkers’ home. A GoFundMe, which has raised more than $7,000 in three days, states they have lost all of their belongings.

“He’s always there, he’s always paying attention, he’s always there to take care of us,” Derek said.

While it’s absolutely remarkable that animals are capable of alerting us to danger, it’s extremely important to make sure that we have working smoke detectors on at least every level of our home or one in each bedroom.

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